WASHINGTON - The George Washington sailing team returns to competition the weekend of February 16-17 for its first of 13 regattas scheduled during the spring semester.

"Following a debut fall season in which everyone's learning curves were sky high, we're looking forward to stepping it up this spring and improving our finishes, especially at the conference championships," said first-year head coach John Pearce.

GW opens the spring at the very competitive College of Charleston Spring Intersectional on Feb. 16-17 with Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) rivals Georgetown, Old Dominion and Navy as well as top teams from New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) and South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) in attendance.

The Colonials' first major qualifying event comes March 30-31 at the MAISA South Spring Qualifier hosted by Hampton University, with the top three teams moving on to the MAISA Coed Conference Championships at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on April 13-14. "That is our only opportunity to qualify [for MAISA Coed Championships], so it is is critical that we are top three at that event," said Coach Pearce.

After its debut in South Carolina in February, the team will build up to the all-important MAISA Coed and Women's Conference Championships (Hampton, Va., April 20-21) with seven regattas throughout March and a trio of events in April. "We'll be looking for the best possible finishes at the MAISA Coed and Women's Conference Championships," said Coach Pearce. "The field for those events will be extremely competitive and the top eight teams will move on to the National Semifinals in May."

GW's lone competition on its home waters of the Potomac River is slated for April 20-21 at the Arrigan Memorial Regatta hosted by Georgetown at Washington Sailing Marina.